The Yalu River estuary, a shimmering jewel on China’s northeastern coast, has officially become a UNESCO World Heritage site—and it’s a game-changer for migratory birds! 🌊 This wetland, nestled in Dandong, Liaoning Province, is the ultimate pit stop for birds flying the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, a superhighway stretching from the Arctic to Australia. 🛩️
Why This Matters
Every spring, hundreds of thousands of shorebirds—think marathon fliers like the endangered Nordmann’s greenshank—crash here after epic journeys from New Zealand and Southeast Asia. It’s their final fuel-up before breeding in Alaska and Russia. Without this rest area? Scientists say many species wouldn’t survive.
By the Numbers 🔢
324 bird species recorded (26 are globally threatened)
148 waterbird species & 176 forest dwellers
32 species protected by international wildlife treaties
This UNESCO nod (Phase II of China’s Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf sanctuaries) follows Phase I’s 2019 listing. Together, they’re like a 5-star hotel chain for birds 🏨—proving that conservation can be as borderless as the skies these birds traverse.
